Vekatramana
temple in Car street in Mangalore is a 300 years old temple, located in the center of the city, and easily accessible. Sri Vekataramana is the deity of this temple. The temple is run
by the Gowda Saraswath Brahmin Community (GSB).
Lord Venkatramana or Venkateswara is worshipped here. Instead of a stone
image, the Lord is in a metal icon with a lot of artistic decoration with flowers and
silver images. The main attraction here is the Ratha yatra or Car festival that happens every year in between the month of January and February. The festival spans six days
ending with Holi. Prasadam is served to all devotees who visit the temple on
the first five days. It is celebrated as Lord Venkatraman's marriage during the Car
festival. One should personally see the festival
to get the real feel of the celebrations and the grandeur.
Sri Venkatramana Temple is centrally located in
Mangalore city in the west coast of Karnataka with a history of more than 300 years. Car street in
Mangalore is famous because of this temple and ardent devotees and tourists visit the
temple to seek the Lord's blessing. The old temple was renovated recently during the year 2012. The layout of the temple was designed
and constructed in such a way that the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Veera Venkatesha is
visible straight from Car street. Devotees are blessed with a clear view of the lord even from outside.
The temple is also famous for the festivals - Kodial
Teru (Traditional Mangalore Car Festival) and Sharada Mahotsav. Another attraction for the
devotees coming here from far is the delicious food available around the temple. One need not go far in search of a clean and tasty meal. It's always a happy
feeling to be here. Lord Venkatramana is a popular deity of GSBs going by the
number of temples dedicated to Him both in Karnataka and Kerala. In Kerala, He
is affectionately known as Shri Venkatachalapati and the temples, Shri Tirumala Devaswom, the
very name of Tirupati, the abode of the Lord.
The temple is efficiently managed by the volunteers of GSB
community members. Lord Sree Veera Venkatesha (incarnation of Lord Vishnu) is
the supreme deity, the temple has a glorious history of more than 300 years; being closely associated with Sri Kashi Math
Samsthan since inception. In the early 17th century, a shrine of Lord Venkataramana
was constructed with just a garbha gudi. The images worshiped were
bronze idols of Srinivasa ensemble. In 1804 Lord Veera Venktesha was
installed as the presiding deity. Lord Sri Venkataramana is the
predominant deity of the Gowda Saraswat Brahmin Community. The main attraction
here is the Ratha yatra or the traditional Car festival
that happens in between the month of January and February. The
festival spans six days ending with Holi. The celebrations and grandeur is worth witnessing.
The contribution of the Gowda Saraswat Brahmin community to the society is immense and admirable. There are several temples managed and professionally run by them with sincerity and devotion to Lord
Vishnu. Majority of GSBs are found in west coastal region of India, mainly Goa, Karnataka
and parts of Kerala. Their mother-tongue being Konkani, they also speak Kannada and Tulu in Karnataka and South Kanara and Malyalam in Kerala.
The Sri Venkatramana temple has a rich and
varied history. Earlier Vaishyas were the main residents
of this area and when the Portuguese invaded the place, the Vaishyas had to
move southwards. This is how they settled in Mangalore South Kanara and Kerala. Sri
Venkatramana was the chief deity of the Vaishyas and the temple was built by
members of their community. The main deity has other deities along side like
Sridevi and Bhoodevi. These deities are made of Panchaloha – that is, five
metals were used to create the statues. Lord Venkatramana holds the chakra in his
right hand and the shankh on the left hand.
The goddess Sridevi is a symbol of prosperity and
wealth and Bhoodevi is an embodiment of sanctity, prakriti and success. The
temple was built during the seventeenth century and the main idol was erected
at the primary sanctum of the temple. The temple also generously houses other deities like
Veera Vittala, Garuda Vahana Shri Gopalakrishna, and Shri Mula Venkatramana.
The statue of Naga Devata is present in the temple’s outer circle. The whole surrounding gives a feel of calmness and spirituality. The spiritual atmosphere helps recharge your mind, body and soul.
According to a legend, an ascetic called Bairagi,
a migrant from out visited Mangalore in 1804. Normally those days any migrant or stranger from
outside would take shelter in Car
Street. The Bairagi stayed there and used to worship a metal image of Lord Venkateswara.
The people, particularly devotees of Lord Vishnu were fascinated and would
gather around his place, keen to see the idol and took part in the worship.
Later it became difficult to manage the crowd so he shifted his camp to Lower
Car street. GSB community members being keen worshippers of Lord Vishnu, approached
a prominent and a wealthy businessman who was a respected person from their community, known as Sowkar Thimmappa Pai to convince and procure the
idol from Bairagi, and build a temple to house the statue. They were successful
in their efforts. And a small shrine was built. The people of the locality most
of whom were from the GSB community started worshiping in this shrine. Ever since
it was established, Gowd Saraswat Brahmins community members are devotedly maintaining the
temple.
The temple follows Madhwa Vaishnava tradition of Saint Madhwacharya (Srimad
Ananda Thirtha). He preached that Lord Vishnu is the Supreme Brahma and Lord
of the Universe. Lord Venkataramana or Venkateswara being an incarnation of
Lord Vishnu has been worshiped as presiding deity in this temple.
There are other metal icons of Lord Vittala,
Goddess Lakshmi, Ganesha, Moola Venkataramana, Gopalakrishna, Hayagriva and
Snake gods. The latest additions seems to be Hanuman (Mukhyaprana) and Garuda.
The flagpole covered with silver looks majestic and attractive.
The idol about two feet in height is made of Panchaloha (five metals namely Gold, silver, copper, brass and lead) as done in
Vijayanagara temple architecture. It is holding sword in right hand as such it has the
prefix ‘Veera’ (warrior). This main idol, adorned with diamond crown, leaves
the visitors and devotees with an unforgettable divine vibration. A sense of
fulfillment of being blessed by the Lord.
Shree Veera Venkataramana Temple being in the midst of the city is easily reachable by city buses from Hampankatta or by autorickshaws. It’s normally a busy area with activity, crowded with shops, food stalls and flower market nearby. If you visit Mangalore, Sri Venkataramana temple at car street is worth visiting along with the other more famous and ancient temples in South Kanara.
Also read: Mangaladevi Temple
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